Dodgers Deck the Halls With AL Gifts

There are only 4 swapping days left until Christmas, so the Dodgers probably will be silent for at least a couple of nights.

Fred Claire keeps making phone calls, just in case, using everything except the Home Shopping Network to find more ballplayers. Santa Claire is making his list and checking it twice.

Tom Lasorda keeps flying around the country, making speeches, spending so much time on airplanes that, he said over lunch Tuesday, “Every time I sit down in a chair now, I buckle up.”

Orel Hershiser keeps collecting toys. Awards. Plaques. Trophies. Cars. Jewelry. All for being such a good boy.

Is there anything Hershiser can still win that he hasn’t already won?

“Playmate of the year,” catcher Rick Dempsey said. “Heck, I don’t know. Maybe he can be named one of the 10 best-dressed men in America, so he can stand next to Ozzie Smith.”

Lasorda and Dempsey were in attendance Tuesday when the Dodgers tossed a little wing-ding for their new second baseman, Willie Randolph.

Pirated from the Yankees, Randolph will be the leadoff man for the Dodgers when they try to do something no Dodger club has ever done--win World Series championships back to back.

The entire right side of the infield is new, what with Eddie Murray taking over at first base. The Dodgers are stocking up for what they believe will be a much tougher race in the National League West than last year’s.

Where do you go to get good help these days?

Why, the American League. Or, as it is commonly known in baseball, Players R Us.

It occurred to us that should the Dodgers at anytime in 1989 happen to field the following lineup--Kirk Gibson in left field, John Shelby in center, Mike Davis in right, Murray at first, Randolph at second, Alfredo Griffin at short, Mike Sharperson at third, Jay Howell pitching and Dempsey catching--everybody on the field will be somebody who, as recently as 1987, was playing in the American League. And Tim Leary was over there in ’86.

Randolph isn’t turning cartwheels over leaving New York, as some players have.

“It’s not like I’m escaping,” he stressed.

Nevertheless, he did express joy at moving “from one classy franchise to another,” and figured this was a place where people wouldn’t be in such a big hurry to dig up controversy.

For a fast moment there Tuesday, he was wrong.

“Are you going to miss George?” somebody shouted at Randolph at the start of his news conference, going right for the Steinbrenner jugular before the ex-Yankee had time to clear his throat.

Randolph might have wondered for a moment if this California media intended to ask tough, leading questions, the way New York’s did.

“I knew that was coming,” Randolph said.

Suddenly he realized something.

The guy who shouted out the Steinbrenner question was Rick Dempsey.

“Will I miss George?” Randolph repeated, chuckling now. “Uh, no, not really.”

“Good answer,” Dempsey said.

Randolph spent 13 seasons with the New York Yankees. He still wears gold rings from consecutive World Series triumphs over the Dodgers, a decade ago. He probably still wears pin-striped pajamas. You don’t get rid of old feelings overnight.

Letters wishing him luck came from Steinbrenner and new Manager Dallas Green, and calls came from longtime colleagues such as Don Mattingly. Although he respects the right of Mattingly, Dave Winfield and others to object to Frankensteinbrenner’s frequent interference with the running of the club, Randolph said he never thought Yankee failures were George’s fault.

“What kept us from winning a title in the ‘80s? There was a certain attitude from the ‘70s that was missing, a killer instinct,” Randolph said. “We couldn’t put the last nail in the coffin anymore.

“I don’t know why. You really can’t put a finger on it. We just didn’t come through when we had to. George was very involved all the time, because he wants to win so badly. He feels in his mind that if you pay lots of money to people, you deserve to win and get your money’s worth. When you don’t win, sparks are gonna fly.

“In my own mind, a player shouldn’t complain what kind of pressure’s coming from the top, from the front office. I wouldn’t want to play with guys who use that as an excuse.”

Randolph did respectfully disagree with certain teammates. There was a rift with Winfield over a passage in the outfielder’s book referring to Randolph and insinuating that a black ballplayer could never be a “true Yankee,” in the tradition of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle and Mattingly.

Case closed, Randolph said Tuesday.

“That was Dave’s interpretation of things,” he said. “It was something we might have talked about a hundred times, but it wasn’t represented in quite the right way. Anyway, it’s all in the past with me.”

All he knows is that as much as he is looking forward to life in Los Angeles, it still feels weird not being part of New York. He feels displaced. He will miss the Bronx cheers, both the good kind and the bad kind.

“It still hurts, down deep inside,” Randolph said. “I’ve been with them 13 years. That’s a lot of time to be anyplace. If I were to write my own script, it wouldn’t have turned out this way. But the Yankees don’t owe me anything, and I don’t owe them. I’m a Dodger now. I’m going to dedicate everything I have to the Dodgers, from this day on.”

Dempsey was eager to help.

“I can get your car for you now if you like, Mr. Randolph,” Dempsey said, transforming now from catcher to reporter to valet.

“Excellent,” Randolph said.

“Seriously, anything you need to know, where to eat, where to live, just ask,” Dempsey said.

“OK,” Randolph said, extending his hand. “Congratulations, world champ.”

“Help us do it again,” Dempsey said.

“OK, let’s do it,” Randolph said.

Tough luck, George. Willie’s having a blue, blue, Dodger blue Christmas, without you.